I tried my utmost to cushion disappointment if the tour of our prospective home produced negative results but my pleadings fell on deaf ears. As far as the children were concerned, it was our home and that was that. They proved to be correct. When we followed Miss Alcott, the realtor through the home, it was as perfect on the inside as Karen had described. It met my every expectation perfectly. Paul surprised me by withdrawing a check from his pocket and presenting it to the startled agent.
"We haven't even discussed price," I stammered.
"Thatcher and I did a bit of homework last week," he admitted sheepishly.
When I raised my eyebrows, he protested that this was a business deal and within his prerogative to properly research price, liens, and that paper stuff as he called it. I was so euphoric with the end result that I didn't press the matter. "Think how much dough I'm saving by downsizing," he said with a wink.
As the children skipped from room to room, he pulled me aside, lifted me, kissed me and carried me over the door step of my new home. I wasn't used to things moving this fast, but I was having the time of my life. I was on a spinning whirlwind, but I didn't care! All of my life long dreams had just come true, even if I was never creative enough to consider anything so preposterous.
After lunch, we scrutinized the house more closely. The children chose their bedrooms, each of equal size, across from a bath. Paul's and my room was large and contained a private bath and stall shower. Karen sat in the middle of her room, a broad smile on her face.
"You have far less space than your Newton bedroom," I said. "Think you can make do?"
"We don't need 'opulence' or acres of stuff. This is just right." She jumped up, as if forgetting something, and inspected the door. "It doesn't have a lock!"
I smiled, remembering my craving for privacy at her age. "We can have your dad put one in. Whom are you locking out?"
"I don't want someone seeing me dressing!" Karen said as if such an invasion was a major intrusion. I recalled her strong sense of modesty when we roomed together in Boston. I'd have to remember to honor her reserve, and a hundred other things that were sure to come to light.
Paul and I inspected the house more closely as Karen and Timmy continued to poke around the rooms before dashing outside to explore the backyard and the barn. Paul suggested some plumbing and electrical updates and an alarm and fire detection system. I would choose inside paint colors with Karen's help, and we agreed on new appliances. Everything else in the home was more than satisfactory.